
The Condition of America’s Heart: Fourth grade student Deon Harris wins MLK Jr. Oratory Competition

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(The Dallas Examiner) – In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, the annual MLK Jr. Oratory Competition was designed to highlight the cultural diversity of the community while recognizing and encouraging the writing and public speaking skills of elementary school students.
Deon Harris, fourth grade student at J.P. Starks Math, Science and Technology Vanguard, was the winner of the 33rd annual MLK Jr. Oratory Competition held Friday.
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Sidiba Dembele, fourth grade student at Solar Preparatory for Girls Second, won second and Danielle Anderson, fifth grade student from Clara Oliver Elementary School took third place.
Guided by this year’s theme, “What would Dr. King tell us about our responsibility as citizens and leaders in America today?” more than 270 students participated in this year’s competitions across all three cities. The final competition included eight Dallas ISD students at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Each student was given 3 to 5 minutes to complete a speech that answered the theme.
The rest of the semi-finalists for the 2025 MLK Jr. Oratory Competition are:
- Sullivan P., fourth grade: Adelle Turner Elementary School
- Jaxon W., fourth grade: Charles Rice Learning Center
- Ivan S., fifth grade: Arturo Salazar Elementary School
- Khalyn T., fifth grade: Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Academy
- Zayden V, fifth grade: Frederick Douglass Elementary School
Deon’s inspirational winning speech:
“Dr. Martin Luther King was a famous preacher, influential leader and great role model, who left his legacy of love to the world. He sacrificed his time, family and his life in the quest for equality. He left us many examples of how to live peacefully with our brothers and sisters, and what it means to be a leader.
“The problem is, we’re not following in his footsteps. So what would Dr. King tell us about our responsibility as citizens and leaders in America today? I believe, as he looks at our society, his heart would grieve, not just because of the state of America, but because of the condition of America’s heart. I think Dr. King would say to us that America is experiencing heart failure. You see, the heart is the main organ of our system. It is a muscle with a network of blood vessels that pumps blood and oxygen throughout the body and keeps us alive. The heart is vital for our existence, but it doesn’t work alone. It has arteries and veins to deliver blood to the rest of the body. so that it can function. But when the heart is damaged, it doesn’t work properly. It brings serious consequences.
“It becomes diseased, weakens the body and shortens our lifespan. This is true for America too. Heartlessness has no place in our society. It cuts off the arteries of justice, narrowing the walls of peace, it makes us inconsiderate and insensitive to other people’s feelings and needs, and cripples our vision of becoming a strong nation with good moral values.
“Dr. King argued that people must have both a tough mind and a tender heart to move toward freedom and justice. He also said, a tough mind without a tender heart is cold and detached, and that a hard-hearted person only loves themselves and has no genuine compassion. I agree. It takes too much negative energy to remain uncompassionate, unemotional, unfeeling and unsympathetic. This is unconstitutional. It results in cloudy thinking. Slows down progress and causes America to have a dangerously low pulse and irregular heartbeat. I can hear Dr. King saying, America is threatening a heart attack. Seek emergency attention now, because tomorrow might be too late. Immediate actions and critical care can save all our lives, and he would be right. He would tell leaders that they have the responsibility of reversing the onset heart failure by making recommended changes and adopting healthy legislation.
“There are mandatory steps that must be followed. First, we must recognize the symptoms by examining our attitudes, beliefs and laws. Next, be willing to make any necessary changes that rehabilitate our thinking and actions to achieve justice for all. Finally, we must be committed to surgically removing any policy or law that cuts off blood flow of equality and justice. I think Dr. King would tell us, with leadership comes much responsibility. Leaders should have a heart for humanity and a mindset to move people in a collective direction and the ability to work together to accomplish shared goals.”
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